Musical instrument case



1962 v. PASCUCCI 3,048,262

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CASE Filed July 7, 1959 5 INVENTOR.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,d48,252 Patented Aug. 7, 1962 3,048,262MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CASE Vito Pascucci, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to G. LeBlane Corporation, Kenosha, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed July7, 1959, Ser. No. 825,580 6 Claims. (Cl. 206-13) This invention relatesgenerally to musical instrument cariying cases and especially to amusical instrument carrying case that is adapted to contain twodifferent musical instruments.

As means of transportation constantly improve populations become moremobile and carrying cases for various items of personal equipment becomemore popular. Because of their convenience and the protection that theyafford, musical instrument carrying cases have achieved Wide acceptance.Students use them in transporting their instruments to and from theirlessons; and musicians use them in transporting their instruments to andfrom their professional engagements.

Heretofore, it has been a common practice to house but a single musicalinstrument in a carrying case. Obviously, this scheme imposes asubstantial inconvenience on musicians who perform with more than oneinstrument. Such is particularly true in the case of dance bandmusicians who frequently double or play two different instruments.Doubling in Woodwinds, for example saxophone and clarinet, isparticularly common since the embouchure is substantially the same forthese instruments.

Therefore, a general object of the present invention is to provide animproved musical instrument carrying case which overcomes thelimitations of the prior art by housing two different musicalinstruments in a single carrying case.

Another object of the invention is to provide a standard size saxophonecarrying case which is adapted to receive further'a clarinet.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a musical instrumentcarrying case which more efficiently utilizes the space defined by itsoutside dimensions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a musical instrumentcarrying case which is characterized by a high degree of convenience.

Additional objects and features of the invention pertain to theparticular structure and arrangements whereby the above objects areattained.

The invention, both to its structure and mode of operation, will bebetter understood by reference to the following disclosure andaccompanying drawing forming a part thereof, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a musical instrument carrying case inaccordance with the invention, showing the cover swung open to revealthe details of the interior;

FIG. 2 is a view through the section 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view through the section 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view through the section 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the clarinet tray shown in FIG. 1.

A musical instrument carrying case constructed in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the invention includes a cover mounted to a casebody 12 by means of hinges 14. According to conventional practice, casebody 12 has a luggage handle 16 affixed thereto while cover 10 issecurable to case body 12 by means of springtype latches 18. In furtheraccord with conventional practice, cover 10 and case body 12 are linedwith velvet or some other suitable fabric, cushions and padding beingprovided in appropriate locations.

It is important to point out that the carrying case embodied in cover 10and case body .12 is intended to be of standard carrying casedimensions.

While case body 12 may be divided to lodge any large woodwindinstrument, a preferred embodiment of the invention reveals case body 12divided to lodge an alto saxaphone. Accordingly, asaxophone-bell-positioning partition 20 and an upper-joint-positioningpartition 22 are arranged, as shown in FIG. 1, to define a bell-andjoint compartment 24. Partition 20 also serves to define aneck-and-mouthpiece compartment 26, whereas partition 22 further definesa miscellaneous storage compartment 28.

In order to provide more complete support for the saxophone bell andupper joint, a bolster 30 is secured to the back wall of case 12 toextend into compartment 24. Additionally, the floor of compartment 24 isappropriately provided with a pad 32. In like manner, partition 20incorporates a pad 34 which faces into chamber 24 and partition 22 hasafiixed thereto a pad 36 which likewise faces into the chamber 24.

According to an important feature of the invention, a clarinet-holdingstructure or tray 38 is mounted to the back wall of casebody 12 as byhinges 40 to depend into the compartment 24. The axis of hinges so ispreferably disposed parallel to the axis of hinges 14.

So arranged, tray 38 may be easily swung in the direction of cover 10 toavoid obstructing access to compartment 24. Tray 38 includes a rigidplatform element 42 which defines a barrel-and-upper joint recess 44, abelland-lower joint recess 46 and a mouthpiece recess 48. The platformelement 42 also displays a cutaway end portion 50 which permits asoprano clarinet bell 52 to depend into the chamber 24 so as to besupported by a rest 54 that is appropriately secured to the sidewall ofcase body 12 beneath the end portion 50. Advantageously, a portion 56 ofthe fabric liner may be extended to bridge the end portion 50.

It has proved desirable to secure a bearing plate 58 to the sidewall ofcase body 12 opposite to the rest 54. So affixed, plate 58 is capable ofsupporting tray 33 as by confronting the adjacent end portion ofplatform 42. It should be noted that, when cover 10 is closed as forexample when the case is readied for carrying, the bell 52 additionallyrests against the pad 60 which is disposed in the cover 10.

The method of use of the invention will become apparent from theforegoing descriptions.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown, it shouldbe understood, of course, that the invention is not limited theretosince many modifications may be made; and it is, therefore, contemplatedto cover by the appended claims any such modifications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. In a saxophone carrying case having a cover mounted to a case body byhinges, the combination comprising: a clarinet tray swingably mounted tosaid case body, said tray including a rigid platform having recesses forreceiving a disassembled clarinet and including a cutaway end portionadapted to lodge the clarinet bell; a clarinet-bell rest secured to oneend of said case body beneath said cutaway portion; and a bearing platesecured to the other end of said case body in supporting relationship tosaid tray.

2. In a saxophone carrying case having a cover mounted to a case body byhinges and having a saxophone belland-join-t compartment defined Withinsaid case body, the combination comprising: a clarinet tray swingablymounted to said case body to pivot about an axis parallel to the axis ofsaid hinges and to depend into said compartment, said tray including arigid platform having recesses for receiving a disassembled clarinet anda cutaway end portion adapted to lodge the clarinet bell; aclarinet-bell rest secured to one end of said case body beacaaeaa 3neath said cutaway portion; and a vertical bearing plate secured to theother end of said case body in supporting relationhip to said tray.

3. A musical instrument case carrying both a saxophone and a clarinetand or" substantially the size and configuration normally used to carryonly a saxophone; said case being relatively long and narrow with apredetermined longitudinal dimension, a transverse dimensionsubstantially less than said predetenmined longitudinal dimension, and aheight less than the said transverse dimension; said case comprising arelatively deep upwardly open box-like bottom having dividers thereindefining storage compartments for components of the saxophone with onecompartment having a portion of its width substantially coextensive withthe transverse dimension of the case receiving the bell-and-jointcomponent of the saxophone, a relatively shallow downwardly opening lidcomplementary to said bottom and hinged to the bottom along mutuallyconfronting adjacent edges of the lid and bottom, interlocking latchmeans on the lid and bottom along mutually confronting adjacent edges,and a relatively shallow clarinet supporting tray connected to said casealong an upper edge thereof and disposed in its position of clarinetsupport at least partially within said bottom and overlying only aportion of said one compartment and leaving a substantial portion of thebottom uncovered by the tray and lying closer to the underface of thelid than to the upper surface of the bottom permitting the smallercross-sectioned portions of the bell-and-joint component to underlie thesaid tray, said tray having depressions therein receiving components ofthe clarinet, and the interior of said top and bottom and the top ofsaid tray being padded to protect the saxophone and clarinet.

4. A musical instrument case as claimed in claim 3, wherein the clarinetsupporting tray is relatively long and narrower than the transversedimension of the bot- 4 tom with a hinge connection along an upperlongitudinal edge of said case.

5. A musical instrument case as claimed in claim 3, wherein the tray hasa cutaway end portion lodging the clarinet bell.

6. A musical instrument case carrying both a saxophone and a clarinetand of substantially the size and configuration normally used'to carryonly a saxophone; and comprising a case body, a cover hingedly mountedon said body along a predetermined hinge axis, partition means in thecase body defining a storage compartment receiving the bell-and-jointcomponent of the saxophone, a relatively shallow supporting trayreceiving the component parts of the clarinet, said tray being mountedon said case body for hinging movement along an axis parallel to saidpredetermined axis for movement between an open position and asupporting position overlying a portion of the bell-and-joint componentof the saxophone, said tray having at one end thereof a cutaway portionthrough which the bell of the clarinet passes beneath the level of thebottom of said tray, means in said case body adjacent an exterior Wallthereof providing an abutment for said tray in supporting position toprevent the said tray from engaging the adjacent underlying portion ofthe bell-andjoint component of the saxophone, and a fabric liner forsaid tray flexibly bridging the cutaway portion at the end of the tray.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS286,399 Distin Oct. 9, 1883 1,715,913 Halk June 4, 1929 1,888,927 LangNov. 22, 1932 1,988,718 Cook Jan. 22, 1935 2,290,307 Wicker July 21,1942 2,584,435 Doerr Feb. 5, 1952 2,804,197 Popkess et a1 Aug. 27, 1957

